


Those We Have Lost

by Eida



Category: Final Fantasy X
Genre: Gen, Grief, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-30
Updated: 2017-01-30
Packaged: 2018-09-20 20:06:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9510953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eida/pseuds/Eida
Summary: "The people and the friends that we have lost, or the dreams that have faded... Never forget them."All of Spira celebrates the defeat of Sin.Yuna mourns what it took to bring it about, and Lulu offers a shoulder to cry on--and the knowledge that Yuna is not alone in grieving a love lost.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [faceofstone](https://archiveofourown.org/users/faceofstone/gifts).



> Hello, faceofstone! I hope you enjoy this fic.

Somehow, Yuna had managed to slip away after the speech she gave to the stadium at Luca, despite all the crowds of people—despite the fact that she was the person they'd all gathered to see. High Summoner Yuna, savior of Spira, who had defeated Sin once and for all.

Yuna, still only seventeen years old, heartbroken, and mourning; still trying to wear her brave summoner's face despite all that.

Still, even now, trying to bear Spira's hope on her shoulders.

It wasn't hard for Lulu to guess where to find her.

Yuna wasn't whistling this time, as she had been when Lulu came to fetch her before her speech. Yuna was simply sitting at the end of the pier, staring off to sea.

Lulu walked down the pier to meet her. Yuna turned to look up at her as she drew near.

“Oh, hello, Lulu,” said Yuna. She was smiling—but anyone who knew her at all could see the pain hiding behind her expression. “Do—do they need me back at the stadium?”

“No,” Lulu replied. Carefully arranging her skirts, she sat down beside Yuna. “The celebration will go on just fine with us out here.”

Yuna nodded, and turned to look back out to sea. She allowed her mask to slip, just a bit; her expression grew more somber as she looked out over the waves.

Lulu sat with her in silence, listening to the waters lap at the edge of the platform. After a few moments, she said, “I remember, back when Chappu left with the Crusaders... I'd go out to the beach, sometimes. I'd look out over the sea. I'd wonder where he was—and if I'd ever see his ship returning to Besaid.”

“I—I remember that, too,” said Yuna. “I came along with you a few times. We'd walk together—you never talked about him, but I knew you must be thinking about him. And then...”

Silence stretched out between them once more.

“He never came back,” Lulu said, softly.

Yuna's hands gripped the edge of the pier. “No. He didn't.”

“I told him not to go,” Lulu said, still in the same, quiet, measured tone. “I was angry with him, for going anyways. He'd promised...” She sighed. “He'd promised to propose, once the Aurochs won the cup. But before he left... he promised that he'd do whatever it took to keep me safe. And then he left. And he died.”

Yuna sat there, silently, the wind ruffling her hair.

“He broke those promises, in the end,” said Lulu. “He didn't have the power to keep them. But...” Gently, Lulu placed her hand over Yuna's. “Even so. I loved him. I know that he loved me. And I've learned to cherish those moments I had with him.”

Yuna's expression shifted slightly—her mouth trembled, and she blinked a few times, rapidly, before she tried to force her calm mask back onto her face.

“It's all right, Yuna,” said Lulu. “Sin is dead. Spira's hopes have come to pass. You don't need to carry them any longer.”

Yuna's reserve broke, then. She turned to Lulu, tears welling in her eyes, and Lulu drew her into an embrace.

Yuna wept into Lulu's shoulder, and Lulu stroked Yuna's hair. “Shh, shh,” said Lulu. “It will be all right.”

Not “it's all right,” because both of them knew that it wasn't. But it _would_ be, in time. Both of them were well-acquainted with the art of grieving; both of them had lost people who were dear to them.

Time would wear away at the jagged edges of sorrow, leaving a quieter sadness in its wake. Eventually, seeing something that reminded you of the person you'd lost would feel less like a blade plunged into your heart. Memories would cease to call up overwhelming waves of grief; they would become a comfort, a cherished piece of your loved one that could never, ever be taken away.

It would never stop hurting. Lulu didn't think she would ever stop missing Chappu, or her parents, or any of the others she'd lost. In truth, she didn't want to. The pain was proof of how precious their time together had been.

But grief faded, in time; it became something one could live with.

Yuna's crying began to slow. With a shuddering breath, she looked up at Lulu.

“He said, if I whistled... he'd come running,” said Yuna.

“I know,” said Lulu, gently brushing Yuna's tears away. “I know.”

A promise made, and a promise broken—but it wasn't his fault. It hadn't been Chappu's, either.

“It's not fair,” Yuna whispered, and Lulu was reminded afresh just how _young_ Yuna was.

“I know,” Lulu replied.

They sat there together for a time, leaning on each other, watching the water. The day was calm, and clear, and they knew that Sin would never again appear over the horizon to bring sorrow. Across Spira, people were celebrating—and mourning, too, for those who never got to see this day.

Yuna wiped the last remnants of moisture from her face. “Lulu... thank you,” she said.

Lulu simply shook her head. “Are you ready to go back, or would you like to stay here a while longer?”

Yuna smiled—and it no longer seemed like a mask. There was still sorrow, there, but it was mingled with hope, and love—hope for a future without Sin, love for both those who had been lost, and those who had survived.

“Let's go back and see the others,” said Yuna.

The two of them got to their feet and, side by side, made their way back to the city.


End file.
